Perfect
by Sohanna
Summary: The Hyperforce arrives at home after yet another mission, and Sparks is as excited as ever to see his daughter. However, when he arrives, she is not in the best of moods. A-Angel's characters used. Oneshot.


Hi. I'm not dead. What a surprise! I'm just not very active on FanFiction, I suppose, but here's my consolation present. I think.

I own none of these characters. Some belong to Ciro Neili, others to AmythistAngel07.

* * *

"I swear, these things get longer and longer," Sparks commented, scratching the back of his head absentmindedly. He shook his head free of the itch before turning back to Gibson, sitting beside him. The blue monkey clapped his book shut, sighing.

"You know the missions we take these days usually only last a week, Sparks," he said. "They're really not extending longer."

"We're just getting older," Nova added, tagging on the end.

The buggy seemed to chorus with the slight hum of laughter. Sparks huffed, folding his arms.

"It's not only that," Antauri added, quietly. "We are no longer merely the protectors of Shuggazoom, we are also spouses and parents. We have other things to live for."

"You can say that again," Otto grumbled lightly, eyes narrowing as he gazed down the road. Nova, in the passenger's seat, reached across and wrapped her arm around the driver's.

"You don't have the opportunity to miss me," she said, grinning at him gently.

"Yeah," he said, sighing, "but you know how Oscar gets when we're away. The girls trample him, and I worry."

"Aw..." Nova replied, kissing his cheek. "You're a good daddy, that's all."

Otto frowned, sighing.

Sparks folded his arms, a grin crossing his face.

"Can't wait to be home," he said. "See Sparkey, the boys... and Sabrina." He grinned absently at the thought of seeing his daughter yet again. His princess had always brightened his homecomings, always waited on the front step for him with something weighing eagerly on her mind. If she didn't tell Daddy the instant he walked in the door, she would explode. He went on a mission when she wasn't yet one. When he arrived, he kissed his concerned wife, who told him that the child had been silent ever since he left. Yet the instant she set eyes on him she started talking jibberish like there was no tomorrow. He remembered her ear piercing squeal of joy with such clarity, a video camera couldn't hope to match it.

Yet as they rolled up to the mansion, Sparks saw the front step empty of all life. His Sabrina wasn't waiting for him as she usually did. He merely suspected she was inside due to the slightly chilly weather. As he stepped out of the buggy and strode towards the front door, he expected to be greeted the instant he walked in the door. However, the main hall was oddly empty. The other members of the Hyperforce merely filtered through the halls to visit their own families.

Sparks was perturbed. This was not his Sabrina. He began walking towards his and his family's rooms, worried for the worst.

As he turned a corner, two smiling faces came running down the hall straight towards him.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" a chorus sounded. Sparks smiled. He bent down, hugging both of the boys. He laughed as they gripped at his jacket. With a great heave, he stood upright, yanking them with him. He spun for a mere second, then set them back down. The twins echoed horrified laughter as they were set on the floor.

"How were my boys?" Sparks asked, smiling from one to the other.

"We built a racecar!"

"It's red!"

"And it's gonna be fast!"

"Auntie Etta helped us with it!"

"It's gonna win!"

Sparks grinned nervously under the torrent of not only quick things, but also disconcerting. Etta helped the boys build a racecar?

"What kind of racecar?" he asked.

"We're going downhill racing," Seth said, smiling.

"And we're gonna work together," Sebastian added.

"Yeah, and we're gonna have a special, two person racer!"

Sparks breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at the boys.

"Well, you guys can show me later, alright?" he said. "I wanna see Mommy and your sister."

"Kay, Dad," they said. They grabbed his hands and dragged him through to their mother's room, then left quickly laughing and talking about the racecar. Sparkey was reading with ear buds in, and had thus not yet noticed her husband's presence. He very slowly crept up behind her. At the last minute, he leapt upon her, wrapping his arms around her neck and grasping her shoulders. She shrieked and leapt up, halfway to activating her transformers and killing him. Then she saw it was him and scowled.

"Dammit, Sparks!" she shouted. She formed a fist and bopped him firmly on the head. He laughed at her, then yanked her from where she'd stood up on the couch. She squeaked as he pulled her into his arms over the back of the couch. She quickly wrapped her knees around his waist and clutched his shoulders.

"Don't you DARE drop me!" she cried.

"Drop you?" he said, grinning. "Why would I do that?"

He stretched to kiss her. She pulled her face back, trying to keep his lips away from her face.

"You're a crazy bastard; you know that right?" she hissed.

"C'mon," he pouted. "You didn't miss me?"

"I _did_," she said. "Then you went crazy serial killer on me and I almost wet myself."

He cocked his head to the side and smiled at her all too adorably. She frowned, glowering down at him.

"I love you, Sparkey," he said, dropping his chin against his chest. "And you don't know how much I've missed you."

Something of the sincerity in his voice caused Sparkey's face to soften. She bent down and kissed his forehead through his hair.

"I missed you too."

"That's better," Sparks said, lowering her to the floor before grasping her waist. "You look lovely."

"Hm," she smiled at him, running her hands over his head. She reached up, pressing her lips against his. He groaned lightly before leaning against her and at the same time clutching her close to him. His lips found their way down to the side of her chin, then down her jaw, coming finally to the small hollow behind her ear. She giggled as he breathed against her fur, tickling her. He dropped her head into her shoulder, nuzzling against her.

"I love you," he said, softly.

"I love you, too," Sparkey replied, hugging his head. She sighed, then cleared her throat. She gently lifted his head. "Honey... Sabrina's..."

"Ah, yes!" Sparks said, shooting up. His hands released her shoulders and clapped her arms just beneath her shoulders. "I need to go say hi to Princess!"

He turned, beginning to rush out of the room. He very suddenly stopped, and turned back around to kiss his wife on the cheek before spinning back about and rushing out of the room.

"Wait, Sparks!" Sparkey called, but her husband was already gone. She sighed, folding her arms, a frown evident on her face.

Sparks rushed down the hall towards his daughter's room. He skidded to a halt just beyond the opened door, and turned smiling towards the room. Before his vision could even adjust to see the room, something went flying past his head. He shouted, startled as he moved away from the object that had crashed against the wall and lay in pieces on the floor. He saw it was her old lightsaber, a replica that she'd made from scratch. She would _never_break that! His head snapped up towards the room, narrowing tightly. His lips pursed as he glowered into the room, trashed. He saw his daughter wearing baggy black sweatpants and a white v-neck t-shirt, her hair askew over her face. In her hands was her guitar. She lifted it above her head, ready to toss it as well.

"Whoa, hey!" Sparks shouted, speeding towards her. He caught the guitar before it could break. The girl looked up at her father, startled. The tween clearly hadn't expected to see him. Sparks yanked the guitar from her grasp and gently set it on her bed. As he did, he looked about the room. Her posters of Skillet and Linkin Park were torn apart and strewn across the floor. Her clothes were all across the floor. He frowned.

"What are you doing?" he asked, turning about.

She was panting, chest heaving. She righted herself and jerked her head, shaking hair out of her eyes.

"Hi... Dad," she said. "Sorry I didn't come to... come to see you."

"What are you doing?" he asked again, sharply. His voice lowered considerably.

She looked about the room.

"N-Nothing."

"Nothing?" Sparks asked, brow furrowing. "Nothing?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm... I'm getting rid of some stuff."

"Why?" Sparks asked. He bent down, pulling a CD case that had already clearly been thrown against the wall. The cover art was of Sabrina's favorite band, displaying what she'd said millions and millions of times was her favorite CD.

"It's... kid stuff, Dad," she said. "You know, I'm growing up so..."

"You're still a kid," Sparks said, handing her the CD. "Will be for a while. Don't rush your childhood."

"Dad, kids need to grow up," she said, matter-of-factly. "We live in a real world."

"All the reason to slow down becoming an adult," he said. "Now let's get some of this cleaned up, shall we?"

She shook her head.

"No, Dad," she said with conviction. "I'm too old for this stuff. I need to grow up." She folded her arms and quieted her voice, looking away. "Something you wouldn't know anything about..." she said beneath her breath.

Sparks felt a flood of anger flow through him. His eyes widened, but his brow knitted all the more. His fur bristled against his shirt. His lips pulled back across his teeth.

"_Excuse me_, young lady?" he said, sharply.

Sabrina looked back up at her father.

"You heard me!" she said. "You took _forever_to grow up! And you know it!"

Sparks felt the urge to grab her arm rise, causing him to flex his fingers. Instead he drew them into a fist, knowing that he simply couldn't harm his daughter, no matter how much she didn't act like the girl he loved. His jaw tightened as he chose his words carefully.

"You know, Missy, you're not too old for a spanking," he said, slowly. "Or soap in your mouth. Or would you prefer grounding? Because that would fit your age so well!" He sighed roughly, folding his arms. "This isn't you, Sabrina. You're suddenly treating the things you love as if you hate them... Even me." He frowned at the words he needed to say.

Sabrina's eyes widened, as if he'd realized something she'd so desperately hoped he hadn't. Which he assumed was the case. He sighed.

"_Talk_to me, Sabrina," he said, holding his arms out to her. "I'm ready to listen."

Sabrina's eyes moved to the floor. She carefully stepped over the debris of her room, sitting down on the bed. She gently slid the guitar aside to make room for Sparks, who sat down beside her. She hugged herself all the while. She removed her hand from her side for a mere, brief minute to tuck her hair behind her ear. She looked up at Sparks, looking on the verge of tears.

"Am I pretty, Daddy?" she asked, quietly.

"Of course!" Sparks said, brow furrowing slightly. "Why would you think otherwise?"

Sabrina sniffled, shaking her head.

"You know Aliana?" she asked.

Sparks did remember her. The first time Sabrina had mentioned her, there was a smile on her face. The girls, or so it seemed to him, had grown very close, being the closest of friends. They were very different, but Sabrina always seemed so happy. Until recently, he realized. Aliana had stopped being mentioned around the house, and Sabrina's normally bright, smiling face had dropped to a dull, sad one.

"I remember," Sparks said, nodding. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"She said that... that I wasn't a normal girl," Sabrina said. "You know, I don't like wearing dresses and skirts. Not often. I avoid them if I can." She fidgeted with her fingers. "Sometimes I borrow Lil' G's shirts. Alistair gives me his old ones." She shook her head. "They asked us what we wanted to be today. All the other girls said things like marine biologist, or lawyer, or all those great things." She sighed. "Then I said I wanted to be a pilot. They... laughed and told me to be serious."

Spark's brow furrowed unbelievably.

"_Who_told you that?"

"The other students," she said. "And Aliana. She says I should be a little more considerate of how people see me. That I should participate in productive activities. I do those little comics you know? And I always play video games and flight simulators. She says..."

"Sabrina, why do you care what that girl says?" he asked, flatly, staring at her blankly.

Sabrina blinked; the question was quite clearly unexpected.

"Wh-What?" she asked.

"Aliana and those kids don't dictate what you can and can't do, Sabrina," he said, turning slightly to her. "Why do you let them say what you can and can't love?"

She looked back at her knees.

"I... I don't know..." she said. "I... I just feel like I'm... not right, you know? When everyone stares at you for doing something blatantly wrong?" She shook her head. "How am I supposed to know the difference between plain wrong and just weird?"

"You come to us; your mom and me," Sparks said, gently taking her face in his hands. "I will always be right here for you, sweetheart. And I know you're weird, but I love you just the way you are. So does everyone here." He sighed. "I kinda had it like you did," he said. "Granted, being a girl is definitely different than any experience I could ever have as a guy, but I was the odd guy out." He sighed and leaned back. "The piloting school? It was like a military base. Everyone there was so official. I was the one who did the work, yeah, but I never really got into the idea of sharp military style." He rolled his eyes. "I was the idiot who did hairpin spins around the enemy in the simulators. It was effective, but..." he lifted his hands for air quotes, "'unorthodox.'" Sabrina giggled. Sparks sighed. "But there did come a point when I didn't know the difference between reactions either. I didn't know if the reason they scolded me was because what I did was different or if it was dangerous. But I started thinking about how my actions could effect others, and, I'm gonna sound like Gibson when I say this, I looked at what would happen should I try something. I knew where the risks were, and I knew when the danger was great, risks were taken."

He very gently, took her hand. "Think about what you're doing, Sabrina. Is there really something wrong with anything you're doing? Is there?" She very slowly shook her head. "Then you shouldn't let them push you around like that. You're perfect just the way you are."

Sabrina sniffled, eyes glazed over.

"Daddy..." she whimpered. She leaned forward, hugging his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Oh, Sabrina," he said. "I love you, princess."

"I love you, too, Daddy," she sobbed into his chest. He held her for what seemed to be hours before she'd calmed down. He didn't mind. His little princess needed him, and he prayed she always would. Finally, she pulled back, wiping her eyes. She looked up at him, a small smile breaking across her face. She laughed, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry," she said, softly.

"For what?" Sparks asked.

"For what I said..." she said. "I was upset and... I don't know what I was thinking."

"Ah, princess," he said, patting her cheek, "I forgive you."

He looked about the room.

"So, what do you say we get this all cleaned up, then go take a flight around Shuggazoom?"

Sabrina's eyes widened and her smile brightened.

"Can _I _fly?"

Sparks rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly, dropping his face into his hand. He gave her a blank stare, yet she kept her smile there, staring at him expectantly. There was a long pause before Sparks said, "A little."

Sabrina lept up, shooting a fist into the air. "YEAH!" She spun around and kissed her dad on the cheek. "Thank you, Daddy!"

"Just don't tell your mother," he said. "Or Antauri."

Sabrina nodded vigorously. She quickly spun about, beginning to clean her room. Sparks stood up, then knelt beside her to help.


End file.
